Year of Fire Dragons by Shannon Young

Author:Shannon Young
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9789881376503
Publisher: Blacksmith Books

19 CHRISTMAS DUMPLINGS

It had been warm in the beginning of December, but the weather finally turned. I started wearing sweaters for the first time and looked forward to unpacking my winter coat for Christmas in London. The Hong Kongers, used to the climate, had been wearing jackets and scarves for weeks. All of the businesses around me had decorated for Christmas. Lights and fake Christmas trees multiplied across the city. Displays of snowy villages, Santa’s grottoes and festive Christmas trains appeared in the malls. People loved taking pictures of the displays, and for once it was not only the tourists who stopped to pull out their cameras and block normal pedestrian traffic. Every time I walked through the shopping malls and central squares, I saw locals posing with their kids in front of shiny plastic baubles and wrapped presents the size of cows.

The most striking sight at Christmas time was of the big skyscrapers in Central. The view was always arresting thanks to the lights from countless apartments and office windows, but at this time of year there was an extra splash of color on the skyscrapers. Season’s greetings covered the buildings, broadcasting their messages across the sky like fluorescent Christmas cards. The words were in English. The Christmas carols playing in the shops invariably made me think of holidays at home. It could have been really depressing, but the lights brightened things up, and I didn’t feel lonely. In fact, I felt rather optimistic. The city glowed around me.

Then, in the days before Christmas Break, London got hit with its worst snowstorm in thirty years. Heathrow Airport was shut for days as workers cleared out the crush of snow and people tried to get home. I watched the weather reports and flight statuses anxiously as the day of my departure approached. My friend Catherine from the junk trip had her flight home to England canceled. A sense of foreboding threatened the festive atmosphere. It had been over three months since I had last seen Ben. I didn’t think I could take another delay. If I had to, I’d park myself in the airport and beg for the planes to fly to England.

On the final day of school, there were Christmas parties in each of the classrooms. In between anxious moments checking the weather conditions abroad, I went around to each of my twelve groups to say Merry Christmas. The kids gathered around me like baby birds and filled my hands with treats. They loved to share food. I couldn’t bear to say no as little Anita and Choi Sze Hin stuffed packets of dried seaweed into my pockets.

That night, the school hosted a benediction ceremony to celebrate the first year it had spent in its new building. Visiting dignitaries were invited, including people from the Education Bureau, the bishop of Hong Kong and the principals of other schools. The only people who weren’t invited were the parents and students of the school. My primary duty was to stand at the entrance looking like an American and bidding the visitors good afternoon.

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